School crossing drive-throughs incidents increased triple in 12 months

School crossing drive-throughs incidents tripled in 12 months amid warnings for Geelong drivers to remain patient on the roads as kids head back to the classroom.

Geelong Highway Patrol Sergeant Damon Patralakis, left, and Acting Sergeant Jamie Davidson patrolling 40km/h school zones. Picture: Alison Wynd

School crossing drive-through incidents tripled in the last 12 months amid warnings

for drivers to remain patient on the roads this school year.

School zones are now back in operation, meaning drivers must adhere to the 40km/h speed limit from 8am to 9.30am and 2.30pm to 4pm.

There were 143 drive through incidents reported at school crossings in Greater Geelong in 2023, which is an increase from 47 the previous year.

A drive-through can involve a motorist going through a crossing while the supervisor has their stop sign out or is on the crossing, and while there are pedestrians on the crossing.

The spike could be contributed to an increased effort to report incidents.

About 100 school aged children are injured each year in Victoria during school zone times, according to Transport Accident Commission data.

Geelong Highway Patrol Sergeant Damon Patralakis said the increase in incidents was concerning.

Geelong Highway Patrol Sergeant Damon Patralakis, left, and Acting Sergeant Jamie Davidson patrolling 40km/h school zones. Picture: Alison Wynd

“Any breach of road rules is concerning, particularly around school areas,” he said.

Sergeant Patralakis said the 40km/h speed restrictions were there to protect children.

“Kids are at a higher risk because they are smaller, less visible and their active behaviour can make them less predictable,” he said.

Sergeant Patralakis urged motorists to take responsibility for their own driving.

“We will continue to patrol school zones and actively enforce speed restrictions,” he said.

School crossings with the highest number of incidents were on Yarra St, Geelong, Kensington Rd, Leopold and Aberdeen St, Newtown.

City of Greater Geelong acting executive director of city life Amanda Locke urged drivers to take care around school zones.

“Our crossing supervisors do an amazing job managing traffic flow to minimise risk, but they can’t control careless driver behaviour,” she said.

RACV head to policy James Williams said it was important to be extra cautious when driving around schools to protect the safety of children.

“It goes without saying that motorists need to be careful when driving and parking around schools,” he said.

“Where there is a 40km/h school zone speed limit, please observe it – reducing your speed gives you more reaction time and reduces the severity of vehicle incidents.”

Mr Williams said driving behaviour around schools was a great opportunity to set a positive example for the next generations of drivers.

RACV encouraged parents and guardians to park further away to avoid congestion and reminded children to use zebra crossings.

Originally published as School crossing drive-throughs incidents increased triple in 12 months